Gongylonema pulchrum nematode from man Figure 2f

In nematodes, the gubernaculum is a hardened or sclerotized structure in the wall that guides the protrusion of the spicule during copulation. For example, in ''

Caenorhabditis elegans ''Caenorhabditis elegans'' () is a free-living transparent nematode about 1 mm in length that lives in temperate soil environments. It is the type species of its genus. The name is a blend of the Greek ''caeno-'' (recent), ''rhabditis'' (ro ...

'', spicules serve to open and dilate the

vagina In mammals, the vagina is the elastic, muscular part of the female genital tract. In humans, it extends from the vestibule to the cervix. The outer vaginal opening is normally partly covered by a thin layer of mucosal tissue called the hymen ...

of the hermaphrodite and the gubernaculum is a grooved plate in which the spicules move; the gubernaculum is controlled by two erector and two protractor

muscle Skeletal muscles (commonly referred to as muscles) are organs of the vertebrate muscular system and typically are attached by tendons to bones of a skeleton. The muscle cells of skeletal muscles are much longer than in the other types of muscl ...

s. The shape and size of the gubernaculum are often important characters for the

systematics Biological systematics is the study of the diversification of living forms, both past and present, and the relationships among living things through time. Relationships are visualized as evolutionary trees (synonyms: cladograms, phylogenetic tre ...

of nematodes.

References

Nematode anatomy Helminthology {{nematode-stub